LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Lincoln officials have pared down a proposal for putting knitted artwork in Union Plaza in celebration of World Wide Knit in Public Day.

A local group of knitters proposed “yarn bombing” the park to celebrate the day in mid-June.

Yarn bombing is done in defiance of city rules. But this this group wanted to receive permission before it placed a stocking cap on the sculpture of a large head. The knitters also had plans to colorfully cover tree trunks.

Not much of the proposal was left after city officials scrutinized the group’s plans, ruling that yarn bombing cannot embellish any outdoor sculpture and may only be applied to nonliving objects.

Parks and Recreation Director Lynn Johnson says he’s willing to discuss the matter.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A grand jury has found no criminal wrongdoing by four Omaha police officers who were involved in the fatal shootings of three people.

Grand jurors returned no charges Wednesday against Officer Alvin Lugod, who fired the shots that killed 39-year-old Danny Elrod. Authorities later determined Elrod was unarmed.

The grand jury also cleared the three officers who killed a robbery suspect and a crewman of the long-running TV show ‘Cops’ at a fast-food restaurant in August.

State law requires grand juries to investigate whenever someone dies in custody or while being arrested.

Lugod and other officers confronted Elrod on Feb. 23, and police say Elrod wouldn’t comply with their commands. Elrod was shot when he turned and reached for a fence behind him.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — The United Way will provide extra training for employees who work with students in Omaha after-school programs.

Employees in 31 Omaha after-school programs will receive training from the new United Way Women’s Leadership Council initiative. The council is partnering with the Collective for Youth, a nonprofit group that runs after-school centers in Omaha Public Schools. Participating programs serve about 4,500 students across the metropolitan area.

The training will touch on academics, but will mainly focus on helping kids learn proper behavior and social interaction.

The initiative will begin July 1 with the help of a $150,000 grant from the council to the collective. According to Annie Bird, the community impact chairwoman for the United Way council, the group has committed to providing $450,000 to the nonprofit for the program’s first three years.

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. (AP) — The company that hauls stinky waste from the JBS meatpacking plant in Grand Island has gotten another permit and a warning from Hall County supervisors.

On Tuesday the board voted 5-1 to give Chamness Technology a permit to spread processed livestock waste from Grand Island’s JBS plant on a farm elsewhere in the county. Complaints have been pouring into county officials from nearby residents because of the smell.

Supervisors had warned the company to address the problem when a pile of the waste near Doniphan was not spread quickly and soon spurred odor complaints.

Board chairman Scott Arnold told a Chamness official Tuesday that because the permit is issued to Chamness, the company is responsible. Arnold says that, “If this doesn’t work out, I’m not going to support another permit.”

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — An Omaha 18-year-old has been given 15 to 22 years in prison for shooting to death a friend.

Christopher Spears was sentenced on Tuesday in Douglas County District Court. He’d been convicted of manslaughter and weapons use after pleading no contest. Spears originally was charged with second-degree murder. Prosecutors lowered the charge in escape for Spears’ pleas.

Prosecutors say Spears was 17 when he shot 17-year-old Dominique Hollie in February last year. Prosecutors say the shooting happened after Spears made sexual comments about Hollie’s sister, prompting Hollie to go to his bedroom and grab a sawed-off shotgun that he later returned to his room. Prosecutors say that after an argument, however, Spears went to Hollie’s room, returned with the shotgun and shot Hollie in the face.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A 59-year-old dentist has been convicted of stealing dental gold and equipment when he worked at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Omaha.

A federal judge entered his ruling on Tuesday against Randall Toothaker. In December he’d pleaded no contest to theft. His sentencing is scheduled for April 9, and he faces up to 10 years in federal prison.

Investigators say Toothaker stole more than $16,000 in dental gold and equipment from a locked cabinet in 2013. An officer stopped Toothaker while he was leaving the property.

Toothaker’s attorney has said his client works for a dental group in Fort Dodge and wants to put the case behind him.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have released the name of a 44-year-old man who was fatally shot in southeast Omaha.

On Wednesday the Omaha Police Department identified the man as Corey Hudson.

The department says officers who responded to the shooting around 1:45 p.m. Tuesday near 18th and U streets found the wounded man. Hudson was taken to Creighton University Medical Center in extremely critical condition and later was pronounced dead.

No arrests have been reported.

WILBER, Neb. (AP) — A 20-year-old Wilber man has been killed in a collision between his pickup and a semitrailer.

The crash occurred a little before 7 a.m. Tuesday on Nebraska Highway 15, near its intersection with Nebraska 41 west of Wilber.

The Saline County Sheriff’s Office says the southbound pickup driven by Sidney Stern crossed the center line and rammed into the semitrailer. The big rig was being driven by 69-year-old Rolland Kutzbach, of Reading, Minnesota.

Stern died at the scene. The Sheriff’s Office hasn’t reported whether Kutzbach was injured.

The accident is being investigated.

COLUMBUS, Neb. (AP) — Columbus authorities say a tractor-trailer carrying more than 80 cattle flipped onto its side and that some of the animals died at the scene.

Officials note that the remaining cattle have been shipped to local farms, where more have died. It’s unclear how many livestock animals have died in total.

Columbus police say the semitrailer was turning onto a street when it tipped onto its side Monday night. The vehicle’s driver, whose name wasn’t released, was taken by an ambulance to Columbus Community Hospital with minor injuries.

Local media outlets report the accident blocked traffic for more than three hours as law enforcement officers worked with area cattlemen to transfer the livestock to another trailer.

The accident remains under investigation.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Police say a man who was shot in the chest in south Omaha has died.

The Omaha Police Department says officers responded to a report of a shooting around 1:45 p.m. Tuesday near 18th and U streets. The man was taken to Creighton University Medical Center in extremely critical condition, and was later pronounced dead.

Authorities say investigation into the shooting is ongoing. The name of man has not yet been released.